Let the Game Begin

The weather in France was chaud et tres magnifique. Travelling all around the world Sophie had been taught several languages, French one of the main ones. She still wasn't used to using it fluently. She had to repeat phrases in her head to get the hang of it. It was supposed to roll off her tongue effortlessly. But Sophie didn't worry about it, because her mother, who was taking her shopping, had gone to Beauxbatons and spoke French fluently. Sophie was able to put up a relatively cheerful mood and only complained mildly when the assistant in the robe shop stuck the pins too close to her skin. At the end of the shopping she got a new book from the book store, which was supposed to be both entertaining and help her get better at French. The next thing she knew, her mother whisked her to La Petit Dragon, gave her some money to buy food, and promised she'd be back. And just like that her French translator was gone. 

Sophie surveyed the pub. She wasn't afraid of anyone. She just wasn't sure how to approach them, especially since she didn't speak French like a native. At least she was better than a few kids she'd encountered, who barely even knew how to speak it. She was very well tempted to sit down and stick her nose in her new book, but that probably wasn't polite. She didn't know how to act. On a regular basis she had no problem acting giggly and fake, but whereas she couldn't care less if her opponents hated her it probably wasn't a good idea to make her classmates despise her. 

She closed her eyes. School was like a game. And she liked games. You had to be smart and confident to win. It didn't matter if you faked it as long as you faked it pretty darn well. Why couldn't she be friendly? So what if she wasn't the best French speaker, ninety-nine percent of the people in the world weren't. She had to stop dwelling on it and move on. 

She ordered herself a pumpkin juice with a curly pink straw and spotted a slightly older girl wearing the prettiest outfit sitting alone at a table. "Hi, may I sit here?" she asked brightly in French with a big smile. The question was just a formality, but she sure hoped the girl said yes. Then the game could continue. 

Translation: warm and very magnificent

Isobel was unfortunately sent off on her own this year. She hadn't seen much of Ryan over the summer, which left her her bored and in a state of general annoyance. She knew he was an adult and he had his own life, but it wasn't a good excuse in her mind.

But so far, today had been decent. She was feeling hopeful. She get to see her friends and teammates in less than twenty four hours. She'd get to sleep in her dorm and maybe her roommate would be less of a drip this year. Isobel saw no reason to be negative.

She had sat down in La Petit Dragon the same way she had the previous year: in the corner with a clear view of the door, in case she saw cute boys (she'd seen some, but none worth her time).

She was watching a boy in particular when a younger girl asked to sit down. "Yes. Go ahead," Isobel replied distractedly. "My name is Isobel," she said after the boy left her line of sight. "What's yours?"

Sophie was relieved the girl said yes and seemed friendly enough. Now she wouldn't have to awkwardly read the whole time. "Thank you, Isobel. I love that name," she beamed, sitting down and brushing her outfit carefully. "My name is Sophie. I'm going to be a first year at Beauxbatons." What kid didn't go to Beauxbatons at this place? So far she hadn't tripped over her French and spoke almost like a native. She was proud. Well, of course you could do it, she thought. 

She noticed a few fairly cute guys in the distance looking at Isobel. She was used to people staring at her, but not in that way. Besides, she always politely reminded people to not look at her too long. "Do you know those guys? They seem really interested in you," she asked Isobel with a slight giggle.

"Thanks!" Isobel replied. "I've never met a Sophie before. What nationality is that?" she asked, curiously.

"I'm a second year. What house do you want to be in?" she asked. Isobel was fond of Montagnard, but she'd never tell anyone that. Except Malachi. She felt like she had told Kai before.

"Oh? Those boys? I know one of them. He's a sixth year. A little too old," she replied, shooting a smile their direction. "But I'm watching the youngest one. I think he's his little brother. He's not looking at me very much," Isobel said, mildly disappointed. "He looks more your age, though. Maybe you should go talk to him."

"I don't know, but it sounds pretty and French, like your name." Sophie giggled, twirling her straw. Sometimes she felt stupid, directly talking about herself. Which was stupid in itself. She definitely wasn't the humblest person ever. "I'm from New York but my family is always moving. Right now we're in Dubai. Which is a surprisingly glamorous city." She hadn't liked it at first, but now she was almost sad to leave it. Almost. She was used to moving. And France was cool. "Do you live in Paris?" Sophie asked.

Sophie glanced at the boys, particularly the one Isobel had pointed out. "He is cute," she admitted, giggling. She wouldn't mind playing with him. "I don't know, I usually end up annoying boys," she said truthfully. She didn't care for romance, but it would be nice to have some boys like her. Her usual tactics usually left boys annoyed, not in the cute way but the I-never-want-to-talk-to-you-again way. Which was stupid. It was all just a game, wasn't it? "How do you get them to like you?" she asked in admiration.

"Dubai, huh? I've never been. What do you do there?" Isobel asked. Dubai wasn't even a place she'd ever considered going, but now that it was brought up, she was curious. Her parents would take her anywhere she wanted to go: Money was never an issue.

"Yes. I live here in Paris. I would love to move somewhere new, but I don't think I'd be able to learn a new language very easily," Isobel answered.

"I used to think that I could impress any boy, but there is one that I've had no luck with," Isobel admitted. She rolled her eyes. Everything she did went over Cameron's head. It was pointless to even try with him. "But for most boys, you have to give a few compliments mixed with in with general cuteness. It's hard to explain. If I see someone I like, I'll show you."

"I live in wizard apartments there. My dad is a curse-breaker. But I spend a lot of time in the Muggle world, too. The skyscrapers are fantastic. The Dubai Mall is the biggest shopping mall in the world, and it's absolutely fabulous. Even if you don't like clothes, it has everything." Sophie liked clothes, but they could get tiring after a while. 

"Oh," she laughed, "as long as you know English, you can pretty much get anywhere." She paused. "Do you know English? French can get you anywhere in Europe though, too. Everyone loves the language," Sophie smiled. It was so sophisticated, unlike other languages. "If you could go anywhere, where would you go?"

"Okay," she genuinely smiled. "Thanks." Sometimes she didn't like accepting help, but she needed it this time. "What kind of guys do you usually like?" Sophie didn't know her type. Someone cute and smart, she guessed.

"I love shopping! My clothes are really important to me. Not so much the fashion part, but the looking good part," Isobel said. She liked her local mall a lot. She even liked the grocery store.

Isobel hesitated. No one knew that she was really from the United Kingdom. No one knew that she could speak English. She debated on whether or not she should lie and decided that was the safest option. "I can't speak it very well, but I understand some," she fibbed. "If I could go anywhere, it would be... Honestly, I don't know. I love France."

Isobel shifted in her seat. She was going to have to think for that. How could she speak about boys if all she wanted more than anything was Cameron? "Well, I don't have a particular taste. But I like sporty guys and musicians a lot. It just depends," she answered. "What about you?"

"That's so spot-on. Shopping is such a delight," Sophie giggled. Her favorite part was when another fellow shopper, usually another rich girl about her age, found something surprisingly cute and Sophie took it from them. Especially if it was limited. People could be such great helpers. "Unfortunately the fashion world is sooo fickle," Sophie sighed. There were times when her outfits didn't last a week before she deemed them boring.

Sophie nodded, most people didn't know English. "France is so gorgeous," she agreed. "Beauxbatons sounds really pretty, too! Is there anything weird there?" Sophie had tried to get gossip out of older and younger kids alike earlier, but there wasn't very much. 

Sophie hadn't actually ever considered it before, she was more concerned about being able to get any guy to like her. "I like fun guys. Not too reckless. Although the wild ones can be easier to play with. And the clueless ones," she giggled. Boy or girl, clueless people were fun to fool around.

"It is! Fashion is nice for only five seconds, then it gets creepy. I still don't quite understand the wearing of leotards for any reason other than dance. It's completely pointless otherwise," Isobel agreed.

"There are tons of strange things at school. There are ghosts. There are friendly paintings. There are tons of other things, but it just depends on what you think is weird," Isobel informed.

Adjusting to all of that was the hardest part of being a Muggle-born in Isobel's opinion. It was slightly ahead of pretending not to be a Muggle-born.

"You should probably stay away from the wild ones. They catch your attention quickly, but they end up breaking your heart in the end. Especially at this age," Isobel said. Or at least that was what Ryan told her. Not that she followed his dating advice very often. He dated that icky Harley girl. Isobel thought of that as a mistake. "I have a soft spot for the clueless ones. Unfortunately, those are usually the ones who remain 'friends.'" she said, making air quotes while her mind wandered to Cameron. When would she see him again?

Sophie giggled, Isobel's words were so relatable. "Ooh, you dance? I do, too. Just for fun." As if she had time for otherwise. Dance was relaxing yet intense at the same time-spurring some kind of emotion she wasn't used to. "I do modern dance." 

"I meant, strange people there?" Sophie was used to friendly paintings. Of course just because they weren't human, didn't mean they couldn't talk. She didn't know why Muggles thought that. And she hadn't had much interactions with ghosts but she knew they existed and weren't as sinister and creepy as Muggles thought. She was more interested in the people she would have to deal with. 

"The wild boys are just fun to mess with. They think they're so awesome," she giggled. She listened with interest, as she herself had never been able to even get a guy to be friends. But she'd observed the instance enough times. "Ugh, they can't just admit they like you and want to be "just friends"," she let out a sigh.

Isobel shook her head. "I'm not much of a dancer. I play Quidditch. Montagnard's Seeker. Do you plan on playing? Or announcing? All three announcers graduated last year, so it's practically a guaranteed position."

Isobel loved Quidditch, but she felt too lazy to play at the moment. Luckily, she had a few weeks to get in the athletic state of mind.

"Oh! Strange people! There's this boy, Birdie, who looks a lot like a girl, but he's a nice kid. He's well-liked, but nothing special other than that," she said. "Most people are fairly normal.

Isobel didn't actually see the appeal with reckless boys. Her father, Ryan, and Kai were all good men and they didn't have to be wild. They took care of her. And Isobel was certain she wanted a boyfriend who would do just that.

"Yeah. Good guys kind of a hit and miss. But I think it's kind of cute. And every guy you meet will fall a little bit in love with you, right? There's always hope," Isobel defended.

Sophie didn't understand the obsession with Quidditch. In her mind, it didn't require brains like wizard chess did. She didn't understand the point or useful skills gained by hitting heavy iron balls at people or throwing balls at hoops. Of course once she was forced in the game it was completely different, she became competitive, just like whenever she was in a game. However it became extremely stressful for her, so in general she regarded it as a waste of her time. Not to mention she was bad at it. But if Isobel was in it, and if she was able to play a small role in the game, she was interested in announcer. "Announcer sounds awesome. I'll try out." Talking about the game wasn't that interesting, but she would be able to dish dirt on players. Not Isobel, of course. But everyone else was fair game. Part of her wondered if she could take on such a big role and she frowned. "I don't know anything about the school teams, though. What is each team like?"

Sophie nodded, slightly disappointed. She wished there were more secrets to other people. Maybe there were, and she would just have to figure them out. 

"That makes it more fun," she giggled. But in all seriousness, she didn't think she could really handle a reckless, stupid boyfriend. She couldn't handle stupidity. It was fun to mess with, but not in an actual relationship. Not that she knew anything about relationships. "I'd prefer a smart, stable guy in a relationship any day," she admitted.

An announcer that liked Isobel? That would be new. It seemed like the previous announcers were only pointing out her flaws. One of the announcers said something about her being "another stubborn Green," but Isobel assumed it was one of the girls who had a crush Ryan in the past. It wasn't Isobel's fault that Ryan was so great.

"Well, each team is a little different. Feu, overall, has only lost one game under their captain's leadership. Lucie is her name. She's a Keeper She's a bit wishy-washy, in my opinion. But she still managed to beat Montagnard.

"Then there is Cerisier. The only player that seems like a real threat is their captain. She's a Beater, but you wouldn't expect it. She's tiny and really fast. Usually Chaser qualities. But the Cerisier Chasers seem to have a lot of drama. They don't work together very well.

"Nuage has good Chasers. They scored on Montagnard's Keeper more than we scored on theirs. Their captain is my best friend's sister, so I have to be 'nice' to her. So no opinions on her shall leave my mouth. At least right now," Isobel said.

She didn't want to think about Kayla. That would just ruin her day.

"Sorry. I get carried away with all the talk. None of my friends are Quidditch enthusiasts."

"I don't know. I think I'd prefer to just not be in a relationship. It makes things a lot easier," Isobel replied. She didn't like being tied down. She needed wiggle room.

Sophie took mental notes of the teams as Isobel talked, like she did in chess, only summarized. Feu was the mostly undefeated champion. Cerisier had a really strong captain but team dynamic wasn't the greatest. Nuage had strong Chasers and a captain that didn't get along with Isobel. Well, if she got to be announcer, that automatically made her a target. She just needed to remember those. "It's fine," she laughed, waving it off. "It sounds so fun. I can see why you'd be excited. How's your team, then?" Judging from Isobel's words it was probably amazing.  

"Me neither," Sophie agreed. She liked drama but if it hit too close to home or got too serious it would just be too personal. Being real, she doubted she would get a guy anytime soon. She was watching the cute guys Isobel had pointed out earlier and felt a growing sense of want. "How do you approach a guy?" she asked. Not necessarily those guys, but it would be nice to know in general.

"It really is fun," Isobel agreed. "My team? We're alright. The game relies on the Seeker, so they are only as good as I am. Which means I have to be the best or we fall apart. We lost the Quidditch Cup last year, but that doesn't really say much on our skill. We still made it to the last round."

Isobel had mixed opinions about the championship game. She was okay with not winning. She knew everybody on Feu's team thought she was a brat, but she knew they were jealous.

"You approach boys the same way you approach anyone. If I'm going to flirt, I approach them as if they were adults. Just so I don't say something impolite," Isobel answered. "But I try to check them out first so I get an idea of how they would react."